Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs when he intends to publish the results of his Department's review of lone parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17193/05]

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Question 125: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs his views on the fact that, despite the introduction of the one-parent family payment in 1997, the number of lone parents in consistent poverty has increased significantly since the implementation of the scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17198/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 125 together.

The number of lone parent families in the "consistent poverty" category as a percentage of all lone parent families fell from 42.8% to 24.4% between 1994 and 2001. During this period households in the "consistent poverty" category overall declined from 14.5% to 4.9%. However, it remains a fact that lone parents can be particularly vulnerable when it comes to poverty, as they have to combine the roles of both care giver and main income provider.

For people in working age households, the main route out of poverty is employment. Despite the huge increases in employment participation in Ireland in recent years and in employment opportunities generally, the proportion of lone parents in employment is low compared to other developed countries. This was borne out by an OECD report on reconciling work and family life, published in 2003, which found that employment participation among lone parents at 45% in this country is among the lowest in the OECD. This is despite the huge employment growth and increasing female participation in the workforce in recent years.

The earnings disregard introduced in 1997 under the one-parent family payment, OFP, has helped to increase employment participation but many lone parents who avail of this disregard engage in part-time employment and retain entitlement to the one-parent family payment. This is understandable as for many the benefit represents stable income security for themselves and their children, although at a relatively low level compared to the incomes a majority of other families derive from employment. Many lone parents, especially those who became parents at an early age, are also disadvantaged by low levels of educational attainment.

A first objective is to replace what may, in practice, be disincentives to full employment in the current schemes with more positive incentives to take up employment and avail of opportunities for education and training that can greatly increase the chances of obtaining more secure and well paid jobs. One of the key tasks in the "Ending Child Poverty" initiative is to address obstacles to employment for many lone parents. The senior officials group on social inclusion has been mandated to examine this issue and report back to the Cabinet committee on social inclusion with specific proposals.

A steering group has been established to progress the work, comprised of the Department of the Taoiseach, Department of Finance and the office for social inclusion in my Department. Other relevant Departments and agencies are briefing the group on the areas for which they have responsibility. The group will present its report to the senior officials group on social inclusion by mid-year and a report will be presented to the Cabinet committee on social inclusion before end July.

Specific policy areas are being examined to assess how they impact on employment opportunities and family circumstances. These include: income supports, employment, education, child care and support programmes and information. A separate working group has been set up in my Department to review specifically the income support arrangements for lone parents. This review will feed into the work of the steering group and I anticipate the work of this group should be completed by the end of June.